Various

Roots of Chicha 2

BY David DacksPublished Nov 22, 2010

The original Roots of Chicha collection came out three years ago and represented the introduction of this surf/Cumbia hybrid to most of the world outside Peru. The second edition, truth be told, is more of the same, but that's more of a good thing: more Farfisa organs, percolating percussion, galloping guitars and psycho-danceable rhythms. The main difference between one and two may be the final ingredient: there's about 30 percent more à bailar this time out and fewer cosmic adaptations of Andean flute melodies. Los Destellos (still active!) are back with three cuts, the killer being "Cumbia Del Desierto," which situates Bakersfield Sound guitar heroics into a tropical rhythm storm. Grupo Celeste's "Como Un Ave" hits with a sublime, Afrobeat-ish riff off the top that's just ripe for sampling. Lesser known bands have some of the more daring cuts, such as Chacalon y la Nueva Crema's echo-laden "A Trabajar" and Los Shapis's similarly glassy-eyed "El Aguajal." If you like jangly guitars, and I hear Canada's up on that kind of thing, you should dig these roots too.
(Barbes)

Latest Coverage